2023 Dallas SWE High School Scholarship Recipients
Dallas SWE is excited to award scholarships to each of these seven extraordinary high school seniors from the Dallas area – Helena Praveena Arni, Emily Haddad, Jacqueline Causey, Madeline Lamb, Jada Mitchell, Chidiogo Onwuanegbule and Taylor Radack. Applicants were evaluated based on need, academics, school and community involvement and plans to become engineers. Thanks to the Dallas SWE Scholarship Committee for taking the time to review a wonderful group of applicants! Congratulations to this year’s recipients: we wish you all the best!
Praveena Arni – Reedy High School
Praveena Arni will attend the University of Texas at Austin where she will major in Computer Science. She is the co-founder and co-president of her school’s Girls Who Code club. Praveena is the President of her district’s Society of Women Engineers chapter (SWENext). She worked with the club to reach out to SWE chapters at universities across the nation to hold panels for the club. In the summer of 2021, she worked with the club as the lead organizer for the first-ever annual SWENext summer camp for middle school students. Over the summer she participated in the UT Computer Science academies as a camper and worked there as a program assistant. She is an NCWIT National Honorable Mention and won the Texas Stand Up for STEM award. In school, Praveena is the president of her school’s Business Professionals of America (BPA) Chapter. She is an officer for her school’s Speech and Debate Team and she is a part of her school’s DECA chapter. After participating in the Code@TACC summer research program, Praveena hopes to combine her interest in computer science with her interest in environmental science. She hopes to continue outreach STEM efforts in college and beyond.
Emily Haddad – Flower Mound High School
Emily Haddad is planning to major in biomedical engineering at Texas A&M. She is currently the treasurer of the Science National Honor Society and the secretary of the National Art Honor Society at Flower Mound High School; allowing her to come up with creative ways to introduce peers to various science fields and art mediums. She also maintains memberships in the National Honor Society, Student Council, Key Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and Art Club. Partly inspired by her mother’s career as a NICU nurse, Emily was also inspired to join biomedical engineering from her involvement in Circle of Friends; a group that works to create inclusive and accessible events for people of various disabilities. She wants to use her passion for medicine and code to create efficient and affordable prosthetics that will make physically disabled people’s lives a little easier.
Jacqueline Causey – iSchool of Lewisville
Jacqueline Causey is planning to study mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. Passionate about being involved with her community, she is involved in various community service events, is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, and was a member of Destination Imagination. Jacqueline is the captain of the cheer team, salutatorian for her graduating class, and National Merit Commended. She received her Gold Award as a Girl Scout by planning a competition of middle school classrooms for Engineering Day. In addition to being a lifelong Girl Scout, she also is in her third year of participation in NASA’s HUNCH program and recently presented at the Johnson Space Center as a National Winner for her project on edible packaging. Through HUNCH, Jacqueline uses her STEM background to solve real world problems NASA faces. Graduating with an Associate of Science degree summa cum laude, she will be taking her dedication to community and passion for STEM to university to solve wicked problems and give back to the world.
Madeline Lamb – Sachse High School
Madeline Lamb is planning to study astrophysics at Montana State University. As an AP Scholar of Distinction, Madeline has excelled in her STEM classes, but envisioned studying about and working in space. In addition to participating in Mu Alpha Theta, National Beta Club, National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, she completed the Gilbreath Reed Career and Technical Center 2 year Metal Fabrication and Machining program as a way to be ready to work in space. Madeline is also passionate about volunteering and is the Parlimentarian of the Dallas Dream Catchers, a club dedicated to helping hospice patients’ dreams come true. As someone who has dreamed of exploring space, her dream is to make a groundbreaking discovery in the history of the cosmos.
Jada Mitchell – Early College Academy at Cedar Hill High School
Jada Mitchell will study Computer Engineering at Clark Atlanta University. Jada is a Longhorn Scholar as well as a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, a member of the All-State Academic Team and Former President of Kappa Zeta Youth Affiliate. As an exceptional soccer player, Jada has been recognized as Captain, Co-Defensive Player of the Year and 1st Team All District. She is also a passionate volunteer and is on the Teen Board for Meals on Wheels, participates in Peer Assistance Physical Education as well as starting her own organization “Hotdogs for Homeless” where she has served over 1000 hotdogs. In 8th grade, Jada attended a coding class and has been hooked ever since. After graduating from college, she would like to work as a Software Engineer at Google. In addition to working in her career field, Jada plans to start a nonprofit organization that will tutor mathematics at all levels and provides STEM opportunities for youth.
Chidiogo Onwuanaegbule – North Forney High School
Chidiogo Onwuanegbule will be attending Texas A&M University as a Computer Science major. Chidiogo is an AP Scholar as well as an African-American Recognition Scholar and Rural Town Recognition Scholar. She is the President of the UIL Academics Math Team and is a member of the Black Student Association and the National Honor Society. Through her love of the theatre, she is a National Qualifying Thespian and Historian of the North Star Theatre. In her junior year, Chidiogo was introduced to computer science and realized that was her passion. She had the opportunity to participate in a Code2College internship and spent the summer completing game and app development courses and truly enjoyed discovering the harmony between creativity and critical thinking required for computer science. She found that coding is challenging, puzzling, and rewarding. Post-graduation, Chidiogo plans to open STEM schools in developing countries to make the skills required more accessible in other parts of the world.
Taylor Radack – Ursuline Academy of Dallas
Taylor Radack will be attending Northeastern University as a Mechanical Engineering and Design major and Pole Vault team member. In addition to being a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society), and the National Science Honors Society, Taylor is a member of the Engineering Club, Biomedical Club, Global Advisory Council and the Perot Museum Club. She is also Co-President and founder of the U-Ascend Club which works to empower women’s self-confidence through exercise, especially rock climbing. She has run track since middle school but transitioned to primarily pole vault in high school where she holds the pole vault record. Through her experience as a High School Aerospace Scholar at the NASA Johnson Space Center and an internship with Flight Data Systems, Taylor experienced an engineer’s daily tasks including testing of a flight system as well as how it was assembled and how it worked. These experiences led her to understand that mechanical engineering was what she wanted to study.
2023 Dallas SWE Annie Colaço Scholarship Recipients – Collegiate Leaders
The Dallas Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is delighted to announce the recipients of the Annie Colaço Scholarship for local college students. The scholarship is named in honor of Annie Colaço (1899- 1991), the grandmother to SWE lifetime member Nandika D’Souza. Annie Colaço epitomized selfless service and lifelong learning, which is reflected in the SWE mission.
Dallas SWE is excited to recognize these outstanding SWE collegiate leaders and encourages each recipient to continue to be a SWE member upon graduation. The Society of Women Engineers, founded in 1950, is a not-for- profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and be recognized for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders.
Bernice Chiaha – UNT Vice President
Bernice Chiaha is a student at the University of North Texas working toward her B.S. in Computer Science. Bernice currently serves as the vice president of UNT SWE, where she has helped plan and execute many of the organization’s STEM outreach activities, such as Every Day is Girls’ Day Engineering, North Texas Grand Prix, and STEM at the Park. She manages conference funding applications for the chapter to attend SWE conferences. In 2022 she led the initiative for engineering graduate students, who were not presenting research, to start receiving conference funding from the UNT College of Engineering expanding the number of students able to participate. Bernice plans to continue as a member of the UNT SWE chapter supporting STEM-related outreach and focusing on underrepresented communities. After graduation, she plans to work as a software engineer and stay involved with SWE STEM outreach.
Kirsten Guillory – UNT Ambassador
Kirsten Guillory is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the University of North Texas. As an Ambassador of the UNT SWE Chapter, she has demonstrated exceptional organizational skills and planning abilities to arrange events that promote SWE and attract potential members. Her responsibilities include setting up displays on campus, engaging with events, and providing information about SWE. She is dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in STEM fields through successful event planning, professional development, and community building within the UNT SWE section. Kirsten is also a member of the UNT National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and utilizes her memberships in both SWE and NSBE to foster a stronger UNT community. After graduation, she hopes to make a positive impact in the STEM community and become a role model for other women interested in pursuing similar careers.
Jordan Rider – UNT President
Jordan Rider is a student at the University of North Texas working toward her B.S. in Mechanical and Energy Engineering. As President of the UNT SWE Chapter, Jordan led the officer team through multiple big changes. The initial goal was to create more committees to allow for non-officers to be more involved within the chapter. The second change was to invite fewer guest speakers to the general meetings which would allow for the members to focus on activities that furthered the professional capabilities and interconnections of the members and the chapter. The final change resulted in a restructuring of the officer team and the election process. The overall result established a solid foundation for future officer teams to build from for the chapter’s success. Jordan is hoping to finish her degree and is looking forward to becoming an engineer.
